Bobolicious

Much to Rachel's delight, we found another hike to go on this morning. Despite the rain, we headed out to Ka'a'awa to explore the new trail. It was a fairly short hike but near the end of it the trail just disappeared. Seriously. We "bushwhacked" through the forest for awhile and when we started moving up the mountain instead of down, we just climbed back down to follow the road. I can only imagine what some of those drivers must have thought as they saw us popping out of the trees!

But lets be honest, the real reason we went hiking out in Ka'a'awa was so that we could eat at Bobo's BBQ afterwards. We went a couple of weeks ago and it was so good we had to go one more time!

The loving expression on Stephen's face says it all. Those were some good sandwiches!

After lunch we took the kayaks out again and got a little too adventurous for our own good. We tried to take them out past the breakers (don't ask me why) and got out way too far. Then we had to turn around . . . Let me tell you, it's a lot harder to control those things when the waves are at your back! 1,000,000 big waves, 1 tipped kayak, and 2 coral cut feet later, Becca, Stephen, Matt, and I were back on the sand. Good times, but I'll play it safe next time thank you very much. 

I was so glad that we were able to get together with our friends Matt and Alex one more time before we left! I forgot my camera again . . . but we had a great time at Tita's grill.

7 Beaches In One Day!?!

We only have another day and a half here, so we're packing in the beaches! Yesterday we went to 7 beaches--places that we haven't made it to yet, and places that we've loved and been to quite a few times already. I forgot to put sunscreen on my face so I ended up looking like a lobster head. But it was worth it!

Low tide at Kahuku Beach

Kawela Bay

Enjoying fresh mango, pineapple, coconut, and banana lumpia 

at Rock Pile Beach

Sunset Beach

( I forgot to bring my camera out for these next  three)

Bathtub Beach

(photo courtesy of homeaway.com)

Pounders Beach

And finishing the day at Hukilau, one of our favorites!

PS: Tonight Stephen and I discovered that we make a mean fruit tart. 

      

"Another day, another dollar!" - Stephen Watkins

We've been having one adventure-filled day after another this week! Today was "town day." My family lives in Laie, a town on the North Shore about an hour outside of Honolulu. Laie is referred to as "country" and Honolulu is "town." As you leave the crowded freeways for the two-lane highway that takes you out to the North Shore and all of the smaller towns, including Laie, you realize how accurate that description is.

Our first stop today was the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet. This is the best place for cheap souvenirs. There were a lot of cool booths--lots of wood carvings, jewelry, t-shirts. You probably wouldn't want to stay for more than an hour or two, but it's a great morning activity if you're in the area on a Saturday!


(Picture courtesy of tripadvisor.com)

 Next, we went to the Waikiki Aquarium. Loved it! It was even worth the fight through the Waikiki traffic.


Let it be known that David and I take pride in our ability to ruin any picture



We finished the day swingin' on Banyan trees and playing swords. Pure bliss.

Personal Update

There are some big changes on the horizon for us! Most of you probably know this, but here's our final plan, all in one place.

1.We have decided to attend UT Houston for medical school. It's for sure folks! No, he's not sure what kind of doctor he wants to be yet, but he's so excited to begin this journey.

2. Matt has also committed to four years of active duty in the Air Force once he finishes school. In return, the Air Force pays for everything that has to do with school--tuition, lab fees, books, etc. It is such a blessing to know that we will be able to finish med school debt free.

3. This means that we will be moving to Houston, Texas in July! We are both so excited. The only time Matt has been to Houston is for his interview last fall and I've never been, so this is going to be a huge change for both of us. It will be really hard to be so far away from family, but we're determined to love it there and we're looking forward to exploring and getting to know the city.

4. As of this Tuesday, I am a licensed English teacher in the state of Utah. Finally receiving my teaching certificate was the jump start I needed for the process of applying for teaching jobs. I had started trying to apply a couple of months ago, but without that darn piece of paper there wasn't much I could do! But it's here now. We'll see what happens . . .

Filling out applications when I could be at the beach . . . do I look 

thrilled or what? :)

 

Snorkeling, Lighthouses, Shave Ice, and the Mighty Mo

Yesterday was quite an adventure! Matt, Rachel, and I started early to ensure that we would get to Hanauma Bay in time to find a parking spot for the beast. We did, I drove us there safely despite a broken speedometer, and we saw some amazing things! If this trip has showed Matt and I one thing, it's that we love snorkeling. We've snorkeled at Shark's Cove twice, Waimea twice, and we were so excited to head out to Haunama and see what all the hype's about. It was crowded, but holy cow. There were so many beautiful fish! The water was clear, the fish were swimming, Matt saw a turtle, and we had a great time. Unfortunately our GoPro doesn't do great underwater, but here's the best we could do.

After snorkeling we hiked out to Makapu'u point to see the lighthouse. I love lighthouses. There's just something magical about them, right? It's hard to explain. Just a tip for anyone traveling to Oahu during whale watching season, this hike is right on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean and I'm convinced that it's the perfect place to see whales.

Matt's brother Brian and his wife Christine are our go-to people for good food recommendations. They led us to Waiola Shave Ice, a random little place in a residential area of Honolulu. It was perfect! The ice was so soft--way better than some of the North Shore places we've been to. It's probably a good thing that it takes an hour to get there or else I would want to eat there every day.

Last stop was Pearl Harbor to see the Battleship Missouri aka the "Mighty Mo." It was really cool! They have these little iPod tours where you get to watch old war footage and interviews and stuff. The ship is huge. It took us a couple of hours to see everything there was to see, and I'm pretty sure Matt could have spent even more time.

Sunset Beach

A little rain never hurt anyone . . .

My beautiful sister Rachel works at the PCC. Not only does she look adorable in her mumu (spelling?), she gets us awesome discounts all over the North Shore! Today she got us into Waimea Valley to see the lush gardens and hike up to the waterfall. It rained steadily for the first 15-20 minutes, but it stopped as soon as we were thoroughly soaked. Personally, I think it enhanced our jungle experience. 

For all you Lost fans, this is the pool where Kate and Sawyer swim in season one. Remember when they discover the dead bodies still trapped in their seats? Yeah. That was filmed right here.


Like I said, it has been raining on and off all day. We couldn't just wait around for it to stop! So after a delicious lunch at Kahuku Grill (love those coconut macadamia shrimp!) we borrowed a couple of kayaks and took them out at the beach across the street from my parent's house. I felt very high adventure--the waves were pretty big and the water was very choppy. We only flipped once :)